Posts by Maria Kazi

Manchester United’s worst start in 29 years.

Premier League

The reds are hitting their lowest under Jose Mourinho’s reign (his glorious third season) and there is no stopping. Their winless run at OT goes back to the first week of this Premier League season. Despite having a better squad then their opponents they have lost two of their three games and drawn one. Things went bad to worse when Frank Lampard’s Derby County kick the Reds out of EFL cup on penalties at Old Trafford. (Lampard celebrating at OT with the away fans was like a bullet hitting right on the chest)

Media soon started spreading rumours about Jose getting sacked at the end of the week but the Glazers showed full support saying that they believe Jose can get things back in control. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho is on worst run of his career, failing to win any of the last four games at home setting Jose’s new record for the longest run without a home win. The last time they went four games without a home win was in 2015-2016 under manager Louis Van Gaal.

My face when I watch United play.

It looks like Jose doesn’t have the dressing room under control, he has lost the players especially after he criticised them openly in front of the media claiming they lack the quality to build the play up from the back.

There were strong rumours about the bitter relationship between the ex-vice cap and the boss but Jose has constantly denied but due to recent events, the media and the fans got a better picture of how messed up things have gone.

Fellaini, on the other hand, thinks that the manager has the teams support.

“Everyone is going in the same direction to try to improve and to do better,” he said, “I think we wanted to show that we are together”

“I think everybody is behind the manager. We have to do our best and to do our job. We showed it but we have to do better on Saturday (for the game against Newcastle)

It is believed that Mourinho ranted out at players before the Champions League game against Valencia, the meeting which was supposed to last for just 20 minutes went on for 45 minutes. The hotel staff could hear Jose’s loud frustrated voice.

After United lost 3-1 against West Ham Mourinho had a go at the players “some cared more than others” which did not go well with the fans and Ex-United player Paul Scholes. He said “I’m sat here surprised he’s coming out in press conferences, having a go at players, people above him. I think his mouth is out of control and its embarrassing the club.”

“He has no idea what his best team is, he has no idea what his best system is, and this is after over two years.”

Whereas Roy Keane ranted about the “crybabies” in the club.

“There’s a lot of crybabies out there, if you’re a footballer for Manchester United, you put that jersey on, you walk out and you don’t give 100% because you might be upset with somebody then good luck Mourinho with that stuff.”

United great Ryan Giggs backed the manager warning United against sacking Mourinho

“They’re going through a tough time but change now and they’ll be in the same position in a year or so without him”

“I believe he should keep his job and I think the problem of late has been forward planning. So just take stock, they’re going through a tough time but my stance hasn’t changed.”

It’s difficult to say who should stay and who should go but one thing is for sure if the players are not willing to play well just cause they have too much ego with the manager then there’s a serious problem in the club. And with the bad team performance there’s a sword looming over Mourinho’s head, he has to figure things out and get the team stable.

According to you what’s the biggest issue going on at the club right now?

United play Newcastle tomorrow and its gonna be a difficult game, but hoping United will grab a win this time.

“We expect a difficult match against Newcastle,” says the boss who refused to talk for more than 4 minutes. “They are a team that is always very organised and their manager is always very well organised on his analysis of his opponents.”

United vs Newcastle 6th October (10:00 IST)

Attack, Attack, Attack. Pogba wants his team to attack more.

Premier League

The Worldcup star Paul Pogba insists his team should score more goals and attack in home matches.

After winning three-game back to back United were held 1-1 at home by the Wolves. It was a frustrating game for the viewers as the Reds couldn’t make a comeback after Nuno’s men equalized in the second half. United are now sitting at 7th position on the Premier League table, 8 points away from the arch-rivals Liverpool.

Criticising the way United have played their home game Pogba demanded his team to play attacking football.

“We should have played much better against Wolves,” he said. “When we are at home we should attack, attack, attack”

“That’s Old Trafford. We are here to attack. I think teams are scared when they see Manchester United attacking and attacking.”

“Maybe that’s the attitude should be better and we should play better because, again, we are at Old Trafford and we should just attack and press as we did against Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal last season. When we play like this it’s easier for us.”

When asked about the playing style of his boss and why the Reds are unable to make an impact this season as well he said: “I can’t tell you because I’m a player, it’s not me.” “I’m not the manager, I cannot say that, but obviously we should show more options of player, but I cannot say that because I’m a player, That’s my way of thinking, we should move better, we should move more.”

“We have played six games in the Premier League, it’s not that we should get worried, but we should obviously get closer, get closer and closer. It’s better for us if we get close.”

Jose showed frustration regarding the attitude of the team:

Jose wants his team to learn from the display of the attitude by the Wolves.

The frustration was clearly seen on his face as he spoke “Not a good performance, not a good result.” he said “A fair result.”

“I think Wolves, by the way, they faced the game, they deserve because they play like I like to play, which is like the World Cup final.”

“That’s the attitude that I like my teams to have every match and we didn’t have that. They had, we didn’t.”

“The attitude made the difference. They were in the game since the first minute, they played every ball, every second in the maximum of their intensity, their desire and we didn’t.”

United play their next game in the League Cup against Derby County on 26th Wed. 12:30 IST. Hope we do better in the next game.

Young Boys 0-3 Manchester United

Champions League

Manchester United are sitting on the top of the group H after comfortably winning the game against the Swiss boys.

Pogba silenced the doubters scoring twice (which includes a cool penalty) and assisting Tony Martial (who had goal drought since January) in the 66th minute. The Young boys were in charge and almost took the lead in the 8th minute but Guillaume Hoarau’s header went wide off the post.

United took time to settle and get in control of the game, soon after 35’ minutes of goal draught Pogba showed his left foot strength that sent the ball right in the top corner. The visitors were awarded with a penalty after Kevin Mbabu’s hand contacted Shaw’s cross sending Jose Mourinho’s men into halftime leading with two goals.

The Reds began the second half comfortably, keeping the possession for long periods giving no chance to the hosts to make a comeback. It was all over for the Young Boys when Anthony Martial Scored the consolation goal for the Reds 65′ minuted in the game. The boss made a few substitutions after the 3rd goal.

Not a very great performance but job was done.

Jose Mourinho on overall performance:

“Job is done. It wasn’t phenomenal, but good enough. I’m happy. I can understand the reasons why we didn’t start well, why we took 25 minutes to be in control, I can see why Young Boys forced it a little in the beginning. They did the same against Dinamo Zagreb too. They know how difficult it is for opponents on this pitch, so they forced it a little and created problems. The goal changed this and then we were in control. It’s important to start with a victory.”

On Daliot and Shaw: 

“I think Diogo and Luke played very well – our danger came from both. They had fantastic movement, depth, crosses, assists, involved in the most dangerous actions and defended very well. Both played very well but of course Luke has been here for a few years, while it was Diogo’s first match for the club after knee surgery. I think it was a solid performance – you could see his potential. He’s a 19-year-old defender with more than 10 years to play for Manchester United.”

On artificial pitch issues: 

“After training yesterday, and it was only light training, I had some players who were feeling their ankles or backs. They were sore. It’s not easy, especially for people that are not adapted to it, so I think there was also a bit of fear in the duels. People are more used to playing on great surfaces in England with always water, if not rain. The clubs, they provide the water and the football is much more beautiful that way. Now I can say because the game is over, I don’t understand how you can play the best club competition on an artificial pitch.”

Champions League is Back.

Champions League

Manchester United are set to play their first Champions League game today since January and it’s against the team called “Young Boys” from Switzerland. 

Jose Mourinho headed into Champions League football after two successive wins in the Premier League which gave the Reds a breather after a rough start to the season.

Get to know your new opponents:

United are not the only team who have been winning, the Swiss side has won all six of their League games scoring 19 goals and conceding just 4 and are sitting at the top of the Swiss Super League with 8 points clear. But they don’t have much European exposure, they have not played in the Champions League since 1992.

They have won 12 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cup and were a semifinalist of the European Cup (Later it was rebranded to Champions League) in 1959. Apart from football Berner Sport Club Young Boys are into other sports like Field Hockey and Bowling.

The main rising concern is the artificial pitch of the BSC ground but United have dealt with the pitch issues over the years and Jose is not gonna let that or anything come in between they will be in their best form and desperate for a win earning all three points before they face Valencia and Juventus.

The away stand will be “Loud and Proud” tonight.

Jose Mourinho’s Words: 

“I don’t want to use artificial pitch as a possible excuse for a poor performance. We are in Switzerland, the home of one of the best-ever tennis player (Federer) and I’m pretty sure that the big man sometimes is not happy to play on such a surface but he has to play and he has to win, Everybody knows that he has a favourite surface, but he has also to win on the surfaces that he is not in love with, so we have to do it.

Gerardo Seoane’s Words: 

“We can’t change the pitch,” said the BSC coach “It’s clear they are not used to pitches like this, so in the beginning, I guess it will be a special feeling. But with training tonight and the warm-up I think they will be all right. They have the quality, speed and technique to play on this pitch, so I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

Why worry when you have a wall?


Valencia will be rested by the boss but we can expect to see Shaw back.
The game starts at 12:30 IST.

Manchester United host Leicester City as Paul Pogba scored the opening goal in the first game of the Premier League

Premier League

Manchester United host Leicester City as Paul Pogba scored the opening goal in the first game of the Premier League and Manager Jose Mourinho has nothing but praises for the captain. “Pogba was a monster. We thought maximum 6o minutes, he managed 80,” he said.

Jose Mourinho expressed his disappointment since he did not get to sign all the players he wanted but he was a happy man after the game.

Paul Pogba captained the United side against LC.

United took the lead after winning a penalty in the early stages of the game, there was a bit of an argument between Alexis and Pogba regarding the penalty which Alexis lost as Pogba slotted home the stunner to give his team a lead in just 3 minutes of the game.

Leicester responded well but David Dea Gea stood strong for the Reds making a terrific save.

It was so disappointing to see United lose the ball time and again, we expected more after the penalty but instead, we saw the forward Marcus Rashford 10 yards behind the half.

Fred, United’s summer signing played his first game last night.

Luke Shaw came forward for the men in Red scoring his first ever goal of his career after controlling Juan Mata’s Pass doubling the lead for United.

“Luke’s game was very complete, even if I forget the goal,” said Mourinho. “He made maybe one mistake defensively in the whole match and the linesman could have helped him with a free-kick. He just has to keep going.”

Shaw – who has had a difficult time at United – said: “I don’t want to speak too soon after one game but I want to be up there with the best left-backs in the world. I have the foundations to do that here with the manager and my team-mates.”

Leicester City came late to the show, substitute Jemie Vardy scored a 90+2 minuted consolation goal.

The captain Paul Pogba was the man of the match and the best part? Boss was impressed.

“We thought maximum 60 minutes but he managed over 80,” said Jose. “The decision belonged to Paul. I asked him and he made himself available and he was very good.

The Goalscorers.

Pogba – with two stars shaved into his scalp to celebrate France’s second World Cup win, although his celebrations for United were muted. He had touched the ball more times and played more passes than any of his team-mates.

“I didn’t have any pre-season games, I came back on Monday so it was very hard for the legs,” said Pogba.

“Winning the World Cup is in the past. I like challenges, I want to progress and win more trophies.”

Manchester United will come back in action on Sunday 19th Aug. 8:30 (IST) against Brighton.

All the problems that Manchester United need to solve.

Premier League

The Red Devils are in their worst run of form, having won only five of their 17 games since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as the club’s full-time manager.

Despite playing Hammers, Wolves and Southampton United have managed to win just 2 Premier League games out of 6 this season and it’s not getting any better. They had a close call against Rochdale (the team which plays in the third tier of the English Premier league system) last night which (luckily) United won after a penalty shootout

Lack of creativity and experience is one of the biggest issues in the team this term and it needs to be fixed if they want to challenge for trophies. Unlimited chances are given to English players like Rashford, Lingard and selling off Lukaku who was our most reliable goalscorer in the club and not finding any replacement? That was a very foolish move. After Dybala and Christian Eriksen’s deal fell through the club did not bother to find another forward and they expect this team to score goals and win matches.

Technical decisions are taken by businessmen and money-minded leaders who don’t have any footballing knowledge, United is just a money-making machine which will be called the biggest club in the world at the end of the day and that’s all they care about.

Manchester United have released their financial year-end figures, revealing a £50 million ($62 million) profit that demonstrates why the Glazers feel little need to change direction. Profits are easily achieved in spite of grim performance of the club on the pitch.

United announce record-revenues of £627.1m — in line with annual guidance.

Total — £627.1m

Commercial — £203.6m

Net debt — £203.6m

Expected 2020 revenue — £560m-£580m

The fact that Manchester United have gained more followers on social media platforms means more revenue through advertising, on-field performance doesn’t matter to the owners if the commercial part of the club is running better than ever. The club has spent £892million since Ferguson left and what good has it done to us? We need to make signings which will provide us with a positive future and platform to challenge for titles in the present and future. All fingers should be pointed towards Mr Ed Woodward and not Ole, Ole is just another victim of the club which is run by businessmen, we desperately need a technical director and a Director of Football, someone who will take decisions which is actually beneficial to the club on the field and not decisions to generate profit off the pitch.

After promising a new role at the club (technical director) Ed woodward had something else in mind.

“We’re continuing to look at this [Director of Football role], but the players we’ve signed this summer show our way of recruitment is the right one.”

This is what he had to say. Again, if footballing decisions will be taken by such people then the club will only move backwards.

I was against the idea of getting Ole on board since day one, this was an emotional decision to make the fans happy but technically we need someone much more experienced and who also have faith in the youth and is capable of developing budding talent. I’ll be optimistic here and believe that Ole will get the team up and running in some time. But for that, we need to change the shape and the tactics. United’s best football under Ole came while playing a 4-3-3 so a 4-3-3 with a midfield trio of Fred, Pogba and Scott McTominay would certainly look a lot more formidable and fluid. No matter how much we cuss Pogba for pushing his move away from OT we need him and Martial, we haven’t produced a decent performance without the French duo, their injury has cost us a lot of points.

Bringing Fred in for a no. 10 would bring more balance to the side struggling to keep possession. Mata lacks the speed to really create chances as our no 10 and he was swamped by West Ham’s players and failed to make an impact in her another poor away showing, Jesse Lingard when played in that role really doesn’t bring anything to the table and is guilty of losing the ball way too many times. Dropping Victor Lindelof and replacing him with Tuanzebe would be a wise decision, the reds have been facing a lot of problem in midfield and defence and this can be a turning point. We also lack a leader in the dressing room someone who will lift and get the team out of the current mess.

Few have even gone as far as labelling United’s current team as the club’s worst team in Premier League history. which is somewhat true if you go to see the stats and facts of the last few games, it really needs to improve. United have earned just 8 points from 6 games, same as Burnley and Sheffield United.

What went wrong with Germany? Player’s response.

World Cup

Germany’s 2018 Word Cup blunder.

Will Germans ever win in Russia? They haven’t been great in past ’70 years’. The Mexicans made the Germans look rubbish.

Germany started their World Cup journey with a surprise defeat against Mexico in Moscow. Germany entered the tournament with poor form, winning just one out of six friendlies they played after qualifying for the World Cup.

This loss means the Germans have to win both the upcoming fixtures against Sweden and South Korea. Mexico becomes the first team to defeat Germany in their opening game of the WorldCup since Algeria in 1982 ie 32 years ago.

The match was played in Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.

Hirving Lozano scored the only goal of the game giving Mexico a much-deserved win. Lozano was all over German defence and finally got a breakthrough in the 35th minute of the game.

Germany’s Joshua Kimmich believes that lack of competitive match sharpness was to be blamed for the opener defeat.

He said: “The mentality when facing a match of this level also counts, quality is not enough. We lacked that too, so many mistakes were made.

“Removing Saudi Arabia we have not won the last six games. You cannot compare the friendlies, in which the opponent does not press you as much as a qualifying round or a Worldcup’

“The coach is right when he said we lost a lot of balls. Mexico did well on the counter-attack, especially- they caught us several times”

Break Dance.

According to Mats Hummels Germany’s tactical approach was wrong after Germany couldn’t break the stubborn Mexican side. 

“It’s pretty simple. We played like we did against Saudi Arabia, but against a better opponent,”

“We talked about few things, such as not losing possession and protection, which unfortunately we did not put into action today”

“Mexico deserved the game because we made it easy for them, knowing we should not have allowed that to happen.

“if seven or eight players play offensively, then its clear that the offensive force is greater than the defensive stability. That’s what i often say internally.”

“Our stability is not good, you have to say often only Jerome and I were at the back, so they mercilessly attacked us”

Germany plays Sweden and South Korea in their next fixtures respectively.

“A wake-up call is too late, we now have to win two games, otherwise the World cup is over”- Hummels said.

I believe I can fly.

Muller: Germany under pressure. 

“We now have to win both the games and under extreme pressure, and if we want to do that positively then we need character.”

“We do not have to change the attitude. It’s not that we do not want to. but sometimes we did the wrong things at the wrong time”

“We will continue to analyse the situation with the coaching team and then try to stop it. We have to show what we can do in the next games.”

CSK Moscow trailed by four goals to one against Red Devils.

Champions League

United manager Jose Mourinho thinks his side is almost there in the knockout stages after the 1-4 hammering in Russia. 

Lukaku scored 10th goal in nine appearances in all competition for United which makes him the first United player to score in his opening two Champions League matches. 

There is no stopping! Lukaku strikes early for Manchester United scoring 10 goals in 9 games in all competition since joining United from Everton in the summer. United looking calm passing the ball patiently in front of the CSKA defence, working it out to Blind on the left. 

A beautiful opportunity for Jose Mourinho’s side as blind’s cross met Henrikh Mkhitaryan who couldn’t convert it into a goal. Penalty for Manchester United after Schennikov clumsily goes to ground in a desperate attempt to win the ball but only succeeds in getting the Armenian down conceding the penalty, an effortless goal from martial who takes the penalty

United went 3 up in less than 30’ mins lukaku scoring his second past Akinfeev, Lukaku very close to hattrick but his efforts was brilliantly saved by the Moscow keeper. Best chance for CSKA but DDG disallows yet another good attempt.CSKA show signs of frustration against the dominant United side. 

Breathtaking first 45 mins for Manchester United, having 3 goal lead in the first half itself. CSK now have a mountain to climb to get back in the game. 

CSK makes an early effort on goal in the second half but Ashley was caught out wide. So close to hattrick Lukaku couldn’t get through the CSK Moscow goalkeeper who saves his effort quickly. United keeping the pressure on by creating chance after chance to grab their fourth goal of the game. Pontus earns a yellow card for the ugly foul on Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

It was Henrikh Mkhitaryan who had the opportunity to extend United’s lead on his 50th appearance, it could have been martial but the attempt got deflected which gave Henrikh Mkhitaryan a chance to have his name on the score sheet. 

Jesse who came on for Henrikh gets one on one with the Moscow goal keeper who handles it well. The 19 year old Kuchev who came on as substitute finds the net for CSK Moscow as consolation which means no clean sheet for United. CSK have another threatening attack and keep pressing in till the FT whistle was blown.

“The important thing is two matches, six points and a good position in the Champions League,” said Mourinho

“I think we surprised them with our attitude and we were really strong, and we killed the game. They did not look as good as they are but I think that was because of us.”

“I have to admit he is scoring really important goals almost every game,” said Mourinho.

“We know that he is a very good player, he can score lots of goals, and playing in a team surrounded by quality players it is even easier to do that.”

 

The new season has started and we are looking back at the greatest summer transfers. Here are the TOP 20 transfers across the top Leagues. (2017)

Football
  • Neymar- Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. €222 Million.
    “Messi is Barca’s superstar, my son had to leave” this is what Neymar’s dad had to say on the most expensive transfer in football history. He is the world’s most marketable football player and has been very valuable for Barcelona. PSG had been looking for a star signing and had agreed to sign Emerick Aubameyang but the club ditched the idea and was set to buy Cristiano Ronaldo who was unhappy due to tax frauds. PSG took interest in Neymar when Barcelona showed interest in Marco Verratti. Neymar will have to wait for his debut as he had to sit out of PSG’s first league 1 game as Barca still haven’t cleared the transfer certificate.  
  • Alvaro Morata- Real Madrid to Chelsea. £70 Million.
    Manchester United’s hopes of signing Morata shattered when Chelsea made the most expensive signing of the club. Morata himself had doubts about where he wants to go but Chelsea stole the show and made the £70 Million record deal.  
  • Joe Hart- Manchester City to West Ham.  Loan.
    Manchester City and England goalkeeper is set to join West Ham for a season-long loan deal. Hart was on loan last season with Serie A team Torino when Pep Guardiola said he was no longer No.1 choice for Man City. He had preferred to stay there permanently but in the end, decided to come back to Premier League.
  • Wojciech Szczesny- Arsenal to Juventus. €12.2 Million.
    After almost making 200 appearances with Arsenal, Wojciech Szczesny decided to leave the club to join Italian giants Juventus. The Polish keeper spent last two seasons with Roma on loan. Though he is happy with his new club he regrets the way things ended with Arsenal and expressed his gratitude on Instagram and thanked the club and the staff.
  • Nemanja Matic- Chelsea to Manchester United. £40 Million.
    It was a bit shocking when Manchester United made this deal official considering his importance to Chelsea and his contribution in the last season. It is said that Matic maybe has forced his more to the rivals Man Utd. The Chelsea manager even went on to say that his plan to merge their new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko to the Premier League has been ruined after the Matic transfer. 
  • Chicharito Hernandez- Bayer Leverkusen to West Ham. £16 Million.
    The Ex-Manchester United player returned to Premier League after two long seasons with Leverkusen he also had a yearlong spell with Real Madrid where he made 23 appearances and scored 7 goals. 
  • Tiemoue Bakayoko- Monaco to Chelsea. £40 Million.
    The 22-year-old has signed 5 year deal with Chelsea from Monaco to become Chelsea’s second most expensive signing of all time. There were payment speculations at the beginning of the deal but Chelsea managed cracked their second major signing. 
  • Kyle Walker- Tottenham to Man City. £45 Million + £5 Million Add-ons
    Walker is set to become the world’s most expensive defender after (£47.5m) John Stones from Everton to City and Raheem Sterling’s £49m move to City from Liverpool in 2015. David Luiz’s 2014 move to Paris Saint-Germain from Chelsea also reportedly could have reached £50m after bonus clauses. Walker is happy with his new club and went on to say “It’s better to play football with a smile on your face.”
  • Dani Alves- Juventus to Paris Saint-Germain. Free.
    Dani Alves ended his tenure with Juventus prematurely to join PSG, he has helped Juventus win Serie A and Coppa Italia last season and reach Champions League finals. However, he wasn’t happy with the club as they did not fully understand his style of play and did not fully allow him to play at his natural position.
  • Douglas Costa- Bayern Munich to Juventus €6 Million (Loan) + €40 Million option.
    Juventus paid €6 Million for a yearlong loan deal and an option to buy him for €40 Million, his move was followed by James Rodriguez’s loan signing from Real Madrid.
  • Adnan Januzaj- Manchester United to Real Sociedad. €11 Million.
    Januzaj made his debut for Manchester United in 2013 against Sunderland under David Moyes scoring twice. He was on a yearlong loan with Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland before signing a 5 year deal with Real Sociedad which includes a buy-back clause.
  • James Rodriguez- Real Madrid to Bayern Munich. 2 year Loan.
    Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Juventus were among the clubs linked with James but Madrid president Florentino Perez wanted a €70 million fee. Bayern was able to do a successful bid with an option of permanent transfer offer.
  • Romelu Lukaku- Everton to Manchester United. £75 Million.
    Jose Mourinho sold Lukaku to Everton when he was the manager of Chelsea and the pair was reunited when United won the bid against Chelsea to sign the Belgian striker. Lukaku has five years in his contract with an option for the sixth.  
     
  • Wayne Rooney- Manchester United to Everton. Free.
    The 31-year-old striker was on Mourinho’s radar when he was Real Madrid manager but couldn’t get regular football under him at Manchester United. After spending 13 years at United Wayne Rooney decided to leave the club to join Everton on a free transfer. Wayne has many records on his name including the all-time record scorer after beating Sir Bobby Charlton’s record last season when he scored his 250th goal. He has won 5 Premier League titles, 1 CL with the Reds, it was indeed an emotional move for the fans and the club.
     
  • Pepe- Real Madrid to Besiktas. Free.
    After spending a decade at Real Madrid Pepe was out of contract after the club released him. He failed to be Zidane’s first choice in recent months due to injuries. The Portuguese was set to join PSG but the deal did not materialize.
  • Michael Keane- Burnley to Everton. £30 Million.
    The England defender became Everton’s fifth signing this season. Keane has signed a 5-year contract and has been under the manager’s influence in joining the club. He was with United for 3 seasons where he hardly made the first-team appearance.
  • John Terry- Chelsea to Aston Villa. Free.
    It was shocking when the club and the ex-Chelsea player made it official; Terry’s contract expired in June. The England player has signed a year’s contract where he will be getting £60,000-per-week. He played 717 games for the Blues and won five Premier League titles.
  • Mohamed Salah- Roma to Liverpool. £36 Million.
    The former Chelsea man completed the signing with reds worth €39 million (£34.3m) and could be club-record signing. Liverpool paid £35m to Newcastle for Andy Carroll in January 2011. Salah signed a five-year deal and will wear No. 11 with Roberto Firmino agreeing to move to No. 9.
  • Victor Lindelof- Benfica to Manchester United. £40 Million.
    Swedish international was the first signing of the Reds from Benfica on a four-year deal. United was looking to boost their defence as they prepare for the Champions League and he has been a long time target for United. 
  • Pablo Zabaleta- Manchester City to West Ham. Free.
    Zabaleta was released by Man City after his contract was expired, he declined offers from Italy, Spain to sign with West Ham and continue playing in the Premier League and is confident he can continue to deliver a good performance.  

Hello world!

Introduction

Football is a way of life for me, I may not play football anymore but my heart still skips a beat every time David De Gea makes one of his usual astounding saves. I am a fervent Manchester United fan and I have been watching this beautiful game since I was 15. My journey began as a football player, it wasn’t long before I was forced to stop playing, due to many family issues and my low self-esteem. I may have stopped playing but that did not stop me from religiously sitting in front of the tv every game night and watch my favourite team battle it out. Soon I realized I needed to channel this ardency and dedication.

Back when we had Rooney in our front line.

One of my friend invigorated me to start a football blog and that’s how A Girl In Red came into existence. I pen down my opinion about the team and how the formation could have been altered for a particular game. Yes, I know all the football rules and no Ronaldo is not my favourite player. People are quick to judge when they see a girl following and talking about football. But I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who actually believe in me and my love for football. These three months have been terrible, living without football was like taking away a huge part of my life. It was as if I had nothing else to do, that’s how football has moulded my life. We take things we have for granted and we only realize it’s value when it’s taken away from us.

Met Fred the Red at One Love United event.